Unpacking...and packing again

It's been a surreal August. I came back from Ireland just over a month ago and my body still hasn't made the adjustment from that cool, breezy, misty green to this horrible, hot, humid swamp that is Minnesota. I don't do heat well. So many nights when I'm out on a run, I'm the ONLY one on the street. Not a car, not a child on a bike, not a person on a front step. Houses are closed up, air conditioners are roaring, the power grid is buzzing.

 But I have managed to unpack from my Ireland trip. 

If only to clear out the suitcase and get ready for the next trip: A writing seminar in Auvillar, France.

I received a scholarship from an arts supporter to attend the course, taught by an author I love, Jamie Cat Callan. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Modern Love section, and she has written a delightful book called "French Women Don't Sleep Alone." I devoured it when I got home from Paris last spring, and have read it several times since. The pages are earmarked, chocolate-stained and scribbled upon. I can't wait to study under Jamie in Auvillar in September.

Until then, I'm dividing my time between working on the tunes I learned in Ireland and composing new ones, and working on a writing project I'm very excited about.

Now, what to pack...